Weekly check-ins between Supervising Program Managers (SupPMs) and their managers must include a focus on people management. The Supervising PM Add-On is designed to ensure time and space is dedicated to this discussion. It is recommended that the content of this add-on be copied and pasted above the baseline check-in document. Additionally, the amount or specificity of information managers require SupPMs to report (for their own pairs) each week may also need to changed to accommodate a people management discussion.
In the rush of program delivery, it can be easy to talk about pair engagement and support statistics and forget to take time to step back to use the weekly check-in space as a professional development opportunity. This add-on is meant to be placed into the weekly check-in document in a effort to make sure SupPMs and their managers do so.
Sections of the Add-On
The Supervising PM Add-On is split into sections that SupPMs fill out prior to submitting it to their manager as the agenda for the meeting . Each section is outlined below, including tips for SupPMs to complete the document (use the links to skip through the sections).
Week in Review
This section is meant to replace the Week in review section from the baseline check-in template. SupPMs should use this space to reflect on the highlights, key accomplishments and challenges of their PMs as well as for themselves. SupPMs should come to the check-in prepared to add any additional context and troubleshoot solutions for any challenges with their manager.
Follow-Up from Last Check-In
An inevitable result of the weekly check-in will be follow-up items, either for the SupPM or manager. Use this space to list the topics that were identified for follow-up, including a broad update if appropriate.
General Management Update
This section is meant to reserve space to discuss the SupPM's management relationship(s) in general. The add-on includes some sample questions that are good to touch base on, but SupPMs and managers may identify other questions/prompts in this section to suit their needs.
Pair Support Management
Pair support can be one of the harder facets of people management in mentoring. As such, the Supervising PM Add-On has a section designed to provoke discussion regarding managing PMs' support efforts - both qualitatively and quantitatively. Again, there are some sample items in the add-on that represent a strong baseline for this conversation, but SupPMs and managers may identify other topics related to pair support management.
Performance Management
Performance management is a large part of being a manager on the implementation team. This section of the add-on is designed to trigger a conversation about managing PMs toward pertinent performance metrics. The add-on includes a listing of performance metrics for SupPMs to enter notes summarizing successes/challenges/questions/concerns for their PMs. (Feel free to delete rows that are not pertinent based on the time of year.)
The way SupPMs and their managers will use this space depends on the level of nuance they would like to engage with it. Ideally, SupPMs are not re-keying performance stats from their PMs' check-in documents into their own - but rather using this space to engage in a discussion about managing toward enlargement and pair support performance targets.
